Please dot and delete.
Welcome to the town of Asylum.
It's a small town. A quaint town. Not quite large enough to be found on a map, but still has a strategic location. It's nestled in the crossroads just south of two strongholds - strongholds which defend the entire Northern Reach from the horrors of the Dessolation. It makes it a good place for crusaders and traders to stop for a rest or trade some goods before moving on, either moving northwards to the strongholds themselves, or southwards to safer cities. But not too far south, less they have to deal with the troubles in the Empire.
You live in this town.
1) How long have you lived here (minimum two months)?
2) What do you do in this town (Do you have a job? Live on the outskirts? Soemt the last of your silver living in the local inn? Etc..)
2a) If you're not sure what you've been doing, roll 3d6 twice and a d20, and I'll tell you.
3) What do you look like? How are you dressed? What's your general persona (timid, confident, etc...)
4) Which other PCs do you know? How long have you known them? What's your attitude towards them?
1) Tesswyn has lived in Asylum for about four months now. It was the first place she came across where she could find a job.
2) Not that it's a particularly good job. She works as an assistant in a shop that sells magical trinkets. Well, allegedly magical, at any rate. She's never actually seen the items do anything. The owner pays her barely enough to cover the rent on a tiny hovel in the town's slums, and oftentimes she goes hungry until she can save up enough bits to buy a meal.
3) Tesswyn is not ugly, but she's far from attractive. If you were to look up the word "plain" in a dictionary (assuming you could read), a drawing of her would be beside it. She's a teenage girl of average height and weight, with brown hair and gray eyes. Her face is perfectly uninspiring to look upon. She wears dirty, threadbare clothes of dull brown. She comes across as timid and tends to shy away from conflict, but she has an impulsive streak that often gets her in trouble.
4) Tesswyn knows the orc Drot, as they work together in the same shop. She is cordial to him despite his grotesque appearance, but she secretly resents that he somehow has managed to maintain a more comfortable lifestyle. She wonders if the shop owner might be taking advantage of her since she's a girl.
1) Regulus has "lived" in Asylum for five years, his entire life. He doesn't spend a lot of time here as he's almost always on a business trip to other towns.
2) Transporting goods and forging trails for trade.
3) Regulus is made of dark gray metal, has a roughly human body shape, and has a large blue optical receptor for a face. He is very serious and works constantly. He honors commitments, speaks his mind, and tries to be polite but doesn't socialize a lot.
4) Regulus knows Drot and Tesswyn as he's made plenty of supply runs for the shop. I'll have a better idea whom else he knows when I read others' posts.
1) about 5 months
2) Slugoth has taken up residency in an abandoned cabin next to a graveyard on the outskirts of town, becoming its default caretaker, and has greatly improved its appearance.
3) Wearing common clothes over increasingly torn burial line, the thin orc is quite a sight having had face burnt off leaving a charred black skull in its place, his natural eyes have either fallen out or rotted away (Slugoth is unsure of which or when it happened) and have been replaced with pin pricks of blue light. He normally wears a wide brimmed hat to kind of hide his face.
4) Who wants to know the returned from the dead partially skeletonized graveyard caretaker who hears voices?
1) Drot has lived in Asylum for roughly two years now, a much better place then the underbelly of a ship.
2) After showing his interest in all things magic to the owner of "The Wish Bone", Olin, he hired on Drot to do any and all heavy lifting. This has extended out to include doing odd jobs for the people in the community, fixing this and that and general hard labor tasks.
3) Drot is typically dressed in a tattered robe over common clothes. The sleeves and bottom have been slowly unraveling and the green color has faded to brown. The growths that sprout from his person are often cut or burned off leaving his body covered in scars. Having established himself in the community Drot has a generally pleasant and friendly demeanor save for anytime new faces show up. Then he remains reserved and observes from a distance.
4) When Tesswyn showed up Drot was pleased to have someone to talk to, he's a little shy around her still but otherwise enjoys her company. Although he's never spoken directly to Regulus, he's always fascinated anytime the golem comes around.
1) Walter was born and raised in Asylum. Recently. however, he has been taking long journeys across the Northlands visiting all the holy sites of the New God.
2) Walter was a watchman for the town guard for many years, but now has a comfortable income and spends most of his days in contemplation, reading the holy texts of the New God, or planning for another trip to visit a site of religious importance.
3) Walter dresses similar to a merchant but in a much more austere manner. His clothes are dark colours and while made of a good quality material, it goes mostly unadorned. He keeps his grey hair short and is in fair condition for a man in his advanced years.
4) If he is interested, Walter might have taken a shining to Slugoth in an attempt to get him to "move on" to his reward in the New God's heaven.
No scrolls for ^^^ this guy....
1) How long have you lived here (minimum two months)? About six months, after traveling for some time following the destruction of his home.
2) What do you do in this town (Do you have a job? Live on the outskirts? Soemt the last of your silver living in the local inn? Etc..) He works as a prospector, trying to find ore in the local rivers, streams, and (occasionally) hills. This has been a meager living for his family so far (poor lifestyle) and he is looking for another opportunity of some kind.
3) What do you look like? How are you dressed? What's your general persona (timid, confident, etc...) Short, even for a dwarf, with a stocky build. He walks with his head high, his gaze confident but not challenging. His clothing is of lesser quality, but he keeps it clean and mended. His beard is long and thick, a deep, warm shade of brown. His hair is also long, but worn tied neatly back into a ponytail. His hands are calloused from work, and there seems to be permanent dirt under his fingernails. His stance is open, and his smile is friendly, when he shows it.
4) Which other PCs do you know? How long have you known them? What's your attitude towards them? I know Slevin, as we are from the same massif. We've known each other for years, and I like her just fine. She's a fine dwarf, so what's not to like?
During your last visit there, you were gifted a special book on the teachings of the New God. Folded into the back cover was a scrap of parchment that contained holy words. The words were filled with the blessings of the Martyr; they allow you to close the wounds of one person.
Super cool!! lol...now can I do this only once, or once a day?? Is it a scroll or more of a prayer that I have learned?
Charlemange, or Charles as has others call himself, has lived in Asylum for almost a year now. He lives among the Goblins within the slums of town and although being a human he seems to have become accepted among them and acts as a spokesman for them during trade agreements.
Charlemange spends a lot of his time on the outskirts of town gathering various herbs and fruits. He's recently taken to gardening and trying to maintain the practice. He has been preaching the word of the cult of the New God to all within the town regardless of race and generally sticking his nose into other peoples business...
Often he is seen in good humor and tries to remind others to act honestly with themselves and others. He often offers simple proverbs to others and tries to encourage the belief of the New Church.
"The soul is eternal. All things come again within the cycles of renewal. The world serpent wouldn't eat it's poisoned tail, ensure yours is not poisoned by darkness. Live well. help others. Smile."
Charlemange is taller than average young man with an outwardly thin but deceptively solid build. He has lustrous light hair and bright blue eyes that could be said to be eye catching. However, he is dressed in ragged clothing. Worn shoes, patched and sewn breeches, an old torn tunic that is too big on him and a ragged and weathered grey cloak. He has a slight limp and does not travel in a hurried manner for any real reason. Usually he wanders around with a short gnarled staff.
He is confident in his mannerisms and maintains a friendly persona with most, even Orcs.
Charlemange would likely have met Walter shortly after arriving in Asylum and would likely have some rapport with the man. If nothing else, discussing the philosophy of their shared religion would be a focal point.
Charles has made a point to have a cordial, although obviously strained, relationship with Drot'ook while helping with odd jobs at the Wish Bone. He has tried to look past the Orcs heritage but old habits and teachings die hard. He's worried that this might affect his actions down the line.
He is not sure what to make of the Clockwork, Regulus. Believing them to be very far outside the norm and seemingly unstoppable, he has not tried to get to know him in any way.
Charles has reached out to Big Gronder, trying to help the Dwarf on many occasions with both assistance and good humor regarding the Dwarf's challenging situation with the loss of his home. He's not sure if the Dwarf really appreciates his assistance or not but he tries.
Regulus probably also knows Walter as well as he would query him regarding regional geography and possible trade routes. Perhaps he has also returned the favor and helped Walter reach a new location at times.
1) How long have you lived here?
Ugly has been in Asylum for years, hoping to find a way to get back at the Demons that destroyed her massif. Mostly she has spent that time working and hoarding her spare cash, hoping to gather a war chest.
2) What do you do in this town?
Ugly works for the local Alchemist Guild Shop, for a human man named Shakes.
3) What do you look like? How are you dressed? What's your general persona (timid, confident, etc...)
Ugly is a fading, middle aged female dwarf with graying black hair tied into hundreds of tiny, tight braids. She still moves with the confidence and speed of a young dwarf, however, and her eyes sparkle. She is almost never without her cigar, streaming smoke from the corner of her mouth.
4) Which other PCs do you know? How long have you known them? What's your attitude towards them?
Big Gronder and I know each other. We grew up in the same massif but didn’t meet until we both came here as refugees. He’s a nice chap, but a little too quiet for Ugly.
I have seen Gronder interact with Charles, but I have never met the man myself.
When you woke up, you felt the Blessing of the Martyr upon you.
You have a choice. 1) Start the game with Fortune. 2) Manifest a Holy Symbol of the New God for 1 minute. During this minute, you have a Boon to all Attacks and Challenge Rolls.
How does this make your character feel?
But you knew. You knew the reason you were brought back was about to come. You knew tomorrow would be the day. And you knew it would all start here in this little town, in the middle of the town square.
You have a choice. 1) Start the game with Fortune. 2) Gain 1 Insanity and start the game with two castings of a special GM created spell (touch an object, creature, or other thing to gain insight on it). Once expended, you do not gain these castings back.
How does your choice make your character feel?
The chest beckoned you to look closer, promising untold arcane knowledge and lost rites. The inside was as black as the out, and you peered deeper in to get a better look. The chest seemed to swallow you whole, while at the same time you were still sitting outside of it. The juxtaposition of being both outside and inside seemed to tear your mind apart.
When you come to, it’s well past dawn. You can hear the sounds of Tesswyn downstairs as she’s working in the shop.
How does this event make your character feel?
A customer comes in and starts to browse the inventory. You manage to sell them a few trinkets. As they leave, you notice they left something behind. It’s a small vial filled with a liquid that smells of flowers. You recognize it as All-Flower Water.
Do you keep it or run after the customer to give them their vial back? If you keep it, you gain the item. If you return it, you start the game with Fortune.
How does your choice make your character feel?
Last night while blazing a new trail, you came upon a man. He was injured. He would die if he was not treated soon. You were not sure if he was a traveler or a bandit or what. But there he was. His shield and sword were nearby.
What did you do? Did you finish him off and take his stuff, or did you bring him back to town to get treated by a local healer?
If you took his stuff, then start the game with 1 corruption, but gain a Sword (1d6+2 damage) and a Shield (+1 defense). If you took him back to get healed, then start the game with Fortune.
How does your choice make your character feel?
Just then, as you're watching from a short bluff not far away, a rock dislodges and rolls down on him.
You run down there to see to him, and find him injured and unconscious. He may not survive.
What do you do? Do you take the gold he has planned up, leaving him there unconscious? Or do you take him back to town to get healed?
If you take the gold, then start the game with 2 gold crowns and gain 1 corruption. If you bring him back to town, start the game with Fortune.
How does your choice make your character feel?
You've been so intently focused on trying to solve this puzzle that it's entered your dreams.
Last night, in your dreams, you finally figure it out. It dawned on you the missing ingredient. Blood from a sentient creature.
Do you use your own blood? Use someone else's blood? Or give up and destroy the recipe?
If you use your own blood, gain 1 Insanity and a special alchemical item.
If you use someone else's blood, gain 1 corruption and a special alchemical item.
If you refuse to go further and destroy the recipe, start the game with Fortune.
Special Alchemical Item: You have created a powder that enhances combat. As an action, you can snort this powder. For 1 minute, all Attack Rolls are made with 1 Boon, and damage is increased by 1d6. At the end of the duration, roll a d6. On a 1, you have become addicted to it and will be fatigued until you take another dose or until you have taken two Rests. There are two uses of it.
How does your choice make your character feel?
Dedicated to maintaining the safety of the roads and lacking a reason to suspect the man is a bandit, Regulus will help the man return to town and seek healing. He will then question the man and attempt to determine whether he is a bandit or a legitimate traveler.
Start the game with fortune is my choice!!
Insight, insight! He says to himself. He instinctively reaches for his tiny metal ball as he does when he's deep in thought.
As he touches the bearing he recalls all the emotions hes ever associated with it. Excitement, dread, anger, fear, passion.
INSIGHT! He shouts as he feels real magic for the first time... He thinks...
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Ugly removes her thick leather chemist’s gauntlets and rests her face in her hands. She knows she shouldn’t have stolen the formula from Shakes’ private collection. She feels terrible for betraying the old man’s trust. It hadn’t even been difficult - she’d just walked right in to his office and started going through his desk. He trusted her enough that she had a key.
The old bastard shouldn’t keep such things just laying about, her inner wickedness whispered. Just because he’s too much of a coward to use them doesn’t mean we have to be. If the Imperial Army hadn’t wanted to keep these formulas, they should have destroyed them.
Ugly sighs and stares into the middle distance. “What am I doing?,” she says to the empty laboratory around her, “Stealing from an old man? To gain what? If this had worked the Empire would still be using it!” Ugly moves to start disassembling the distillation apparatus.
NO! the wickedness says, staying her hand. The Empire is full of milksops and water-bloods. If they’d had a spine they would have sent help when we NEEDED it! Now they’re going to pay us back! We’re going to take their secret weapons, and USE them! Use them the way THEY NEVER COULD!
Ugly stares at the flask on the table, her knuckles white as she grips the edge of the table. This power is OURS, Slevin. The old man was too weak for this. He was too weak to try and make it for the Empire. And he was too weak to destroy the formula to protect it. Destiny saved it. Saved it for US. Now finish it.
Ugly steels herself and removes the flask from beneath the still. “I can’t be helped. I need it more than he does.”
Drawing her knife, Ugly makes a short, deep cut on her forearm and quickly pulls the flask beneath the wound. Thick red blood runs across her skin and dribbles into the flask. It wasn’t the first time Ugly had shed blood to ensure victory. It seemed likely it wouldn’t be the last.
Gronder heaves the fellow up as best he can, being short, and helps him back to town.
All I had to do was leave him there. No one would have known. That gold... no. NO! I am better than that. We all have to be better than that. We have to rise above our base instincts. But... we don't always have to like it.
Grumbling to himself, he puts one foot in front of the other until they are back in town, where he takes the man to a healer.
Others are gathered about. They seem to be loitering for no particular reason.
A man in dark robes walks into the middle of the crowd and reads a scroll in Dark Speech, causing several people around him to violently explode. Blood and guts splatter the courtyard.
eeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee EEEEEEEEEEE *POP*
All sound is gone.
You looks around and the central square is an explosion of chaos.
The air ripples with tension. Physical, tangible, tension that presses at your body. You feel a slight headache and ringing that intensifies to near agony.
The air wavers and stills and silence fills your head. The movement of the crowd chaotic yet still with serenity.
That is when the sky tears open.
Starting three feet from the ground, it pustules open in a fat inky void ten feet up.
An orange and pink pseudopod starts growing out of it, the “mouth” a cylindrical hole at the end. It pulsates.
A small sound scratches your ears. It grows and grows until you can hear nothing else.
eeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee EEEEEEEEEEE *POP*
All sound is gone.
You looks around and see people running outside. You head out.
The courtyard outside is painted in red and brown. Body parts lie everywhere.
The air ripples with tension. Physical, tangible, tension that presses at your body. You feel a slight headache and ringing that intensifies to near agony.
The air wavers and stills and silence fills your head. The movement of the crowd chaotic yet still with serenity.
That is when the sky tears open.
Starting three feet from the ground, it pustules open in a fat inky void ten feet up.
A pulsating cylindrical pseudopod with a sucking mouth on the tip extends out, it's pink and orange coloration constantly moving and shifting even as its skin rivulates.
eeeeeeeee eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee EEEEEEEEEEE *POP*
All sound is gone.
Everyone looks around, trying to see what's going on. Some have their fingers in their ears. It seems as if no one can hear. You go outside and you can see people soundlessly screaming.
The courtyard is covered in blood and guts as if several people have exploded.
The air ripples with tension. Physical, tangible, tension that presses at your body. You feel a slight headache and ringing that intensifies to near agony.
The air wavers and stills and silence fills your head. The movement of the crowd chaotic yet still with serenity.
That is when the sky tears open.
Starting three feet from the ground, it pustules open in a fat inky void ten feet up.
A faint buzzing sound rings in your ears as the sounds of reality blend back into your brain. You can hear again, and the world is filled with screaming.
Children are left crying and abandoned by their parents as they start to go mad, some running, some standing still in shock, others still reacting violently to those who get in their way.
Tesswyn stares at the horrid pseudopod with wide eyes, her mind reeling with inexplicable terror. She whimpers and curls up into a ball, arms wrapped around her knees. She rocks back and forth for a few moments until she hears her own voice screaming in her mind.
Run, you idiot! Get out of there!
She scrambles to her feet and rushes away from the nightmarish monstrosity, looking for somewhere safe to hide!
Regulus walks out into the courtyard, slowly turning the confusing matter over and over in his head. No category for this. What purpose in this situation? He stands stock still, unsure what his role is in such madness. Then something clicks in his mechanical brain. Disasters bad for trade. Reduce impacts. Then he begins rushing around, trying to help the injured to the healer's and reunite lost children with their parents.
Almost before her hearing has returned, Ugly finds she is already running across the square. The old habits die hard, apparently.The fear rockets through her veins, turning immediately into adrenaline as she had trained it to all those years ago.
"Move!" she screams, "Get out of the square! Run! Fetch the guard!"
She snatches the club from her belt and looks for some high ground to attack from nearby.
Slugoth felt the power of the spell against his exposed skull, sending a shiver of terror throughout his bones. The fear that gripped him caused him to take cover behind a low wall nearby.
Will:
Walter gasps at what he is seeing...an actual demon breaching their world. He looks around and quickly goes to help the few guards who are in the crowd.
"Buck up lads...at least you will have a real hair-raising story to tell yer kiddos!"
Drot jumps out of the attic just in time to see Tesswyn pick herself up and run. He tries his best to follow suit, realizing how quick the woman really is.
Drot is afraid but his determination to survive and follow Tesseyn overshadows this fear by a lot.
Gronder panics, his expression going slack, as he stands there utterly dumbfounded at what he's seeing.
There's... what IS THAT? A hole in the... no, it can't be. But, those people. What happened to them? How did they... they look like they exploded. Did they? How... what...
He began reciting the four truths.
"The mortal soul is eternal. Death is a door to the next life." Even as he finished the first truth, he felt a moment of calm.
Once he had a moment to calm himself he realized there was something else. The dire warning wasn't all the Martyr had left him with. There was a tangible presence within his mind. A snake in a circle eating its own tail.
He reached out with his own will and realized that it was tangible, but he knew instinctively that it was ephemeral in nature and would not last long.
Charlemange raised his head and whispered.
"I understand, I know where I have to go."
Charles as he called himself to others in the light of day, had stood near the center square. He was tense and his stomach felt knotted as he waited. Then it happened.
The explosion of chaos hit him like a wave and the horror of what he sees forces him to look away.
The image of the circle flashed in his mind, urging him to remember why he'd been called here.
"The divine depends on mortals, not the other way around."
He steeled his resolve and looked through the panicked crowd. He stared at the rip within the world, the pseudo pod extending from within, but his gaze shifted as he began looking for the figure in the dark robes who'd unleashed this thing upon the townsfolk.
"Perhaps the same rules apply to them as well."
He moved his way through the crowd. he bellowed over the crowd, raising his short staff in challenge. "You would unleash this unholy being upon this town of innocents?!"
Brandishing her club, Ugly races towards the merchant's cart overturned near the middle of the square. Her legs are short but move smoothly over the uneven crates and boxes, quickly climbing above the portal
What's the matter, girl?, Her old Captain's voice echoes in her ears as she leaps to attack the Demon, Think you're gonna live forever?
Drot is going to take a slow action in order to pivot, move toward the monster with the intention of touching it and expending a use of insight.
Tesswyn looks over her shoulder in time to see Drot turning back towards the monster. What the hell is he doing?!?
If the orc wanted to die, that was his prerogative. The young woman continues to flee.
Walter will go on slow initiative so he can move towards the figure in the dark robes and try to strike him with his walking staff.
Regulus keeps helping people get out of the danger zone. "It is unsafe here. Please leave. Remain calm. Panic will not aid the situation." Seeing the chaos and carnage continue, he ponders Perhaps there is a source I should pursue.
Attack: 1d20 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + (3) = 8
Gronder shakes his head, snapping out of it. He pulls his battle-axe out of the loop at his belt, hefting the weapon as he wields it.
Grandfather, you are with me. I can feel it in your axe. I will make you proud.
His expression grim, Gronder walks on, looking for the source of the trouble.
The mostly dead orc continues to hide behind the was, still gripped by fear.
Fast PCs
Tesswyn sees the horrors that lay beyond the veil of reality. Her mind matches her legs as they both flee to safety and normality.
Charles approaches the cloaked man, and the face within the hood is an image of madness. His eyes gleam with delight and a grin splits his face. I did it! he cackles. I really did it! I opened a portal and brought forth the wonders of another dimension!
Fast Enemies
Slow PCs
Slugoth's mind is still catching up, trying to process everything he sees.
Grondor and Regulus move side by side and approach the chaos within the village square. Blood and guts soak the dirt around the rip in reality. As you come around the other side of the tear, you see a pulsating orange and pink pseudopod sticking out of the inky black void and into your world.
A hooded man nearby is cackling about the beauty of such wonders.
There is a dwarf charging, she leaps upon a wagon, flying up and off it towards the pseudopod. Her club striking the rubbery flesh and bouncing off. She lands beneath it on her feet.
Walt approaches the cloaked man from behind while he’s distracted by Charles and readies his club.
But the swing seems to have caught the man's eye and he steps back, the staff missing him.
Drot moves up to the tear and reaches up with his hand, touching it. His eyelids flutter as a stream of information is transferred to his brain.
Slow Enemies
The pseudopod shudders and the pulsating rivulets along its shaft increase in frequency. Mucus starts to flow out of the toothless circle of a mouth at the tip, and it splurges out tiny egg-shaped things, a gleaming silver in color. The eggs sprout limbs, two long three-jointed limbs towards the back, two stabilizing limbs in the middle, and two grasping limbs towards the front.
The three-jointed legs on one fold in on itself, pressing down as if under high tension. It releases the tension and the egg launches into the air towards an older man in the square. The thing impacts against the man and immediately starts crawling towards his face. The front grasping limbs grabs his mouth and pries it open. You can hear the crack as his jaw breaks. His screams become muffled as the egg-shaped thing enters his mouth and disappears down his throat. The horrified and pain filled screams return.
A total of of these things pop out. Each of them targeting a different victim in the vicinity, forcing jaws open and sliming down throats.
Regulus turns, re-calculating how best to distribute his efforts. Pseudopod source of major threat. Eliminate. He rushes toward the pseudopod and brings his staff down toward it.
Gronder sees the tentacle-creature spit out the jumping eggs... There's something I never thought I'd see... and rushes at it, swinging his axe.
Hearing the muffled screams and sounds of combat gives Tesswyn flashbacks to the day her father was killed. Like before, she tries to hide somewhere and hope the monsters overlook her when they finish with everybody else!
Walter once again attempts to strike the robed figure in the hopes that if he is taken down the rift between worlds will shatter.
Attack:
Damage:
Slugoth shakes away the terror and comes forward trying to smash a whateverthehellitis.